BNY Mellon nears Insight deal August 4, 2009 Bank of New York Mellon is in late-stage talks to buy the lion’s share of Insight, the fund manager inherited by Lloyds Banking Group from HBOS, in a deal worth up to £235m. BNY is understood to have beaten off competition from US private equity house Hellman & Friedman and asset manager Schroders. Abdullah Nauphal, [...]
Focus DIY hopes for rescue plan August 4, 2009 Focus DIY will today unveil a restructuring plan aimed at saving it from collapse and will call on landlords to get behind the proposals. The retailer is proposing a company voluntary agreement (CVA), under which it would jettison stores standing empty. Landlords of the closed outlets would be offered dividends, paid in lump sums, in [...]
Sony launches cheap Kindle rival August 4, 2009 Electronics firm Sony has launched a cheaper rival to Amazon’s Kindle book reader, undercutting its competitor’s product by some $100 (£59). Sony said it would start selling its Pocket Reader at $199, as well as a larger touchscreen version at $299. “Achieving the $199 price point, we believe, expands the market dramatically,” said Steve Haber, [...]
Menolly Cheapside wins tenant August 4, 2009 International law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe yesterday signed a lease to move its London headquarters to the new Menolly development at 107 Cheapside. The lease is for 44,500 sq ft of space at the new 185,000 sq ft development. Orrick has also taken an option over a further 20,000 sq ft and plans to [...]
A SIGH OF RELIEF FOR FUND GURU DUFFIELD August 4, 2009 AFTER months of being down on his luck, perhaps the tide is starting to turn for veteran fund management guru John Duffield and his newest business venture, Brompton Asset Management. Duffield, who also previously set up Jupiter and New Star, originally named the firm Hyde Park Asset Management, before hedge fund marketing firm Hyde Park [...]
Fowle secures the top post at M&B pubs August 3, 2009 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday announced it has appointed Adam Fowle as chief executive, who has been acting in the role since 21 May. Fowle was parachuted in as acting chief executive after an ill-fated 2007 joint venture with property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz forced the resignation of then executive Tim Clarke. Under Clarke pre-tax [...]
Close Growth Capital spun off in management buyout August 3, 2009 MERCHANT bank Close Brothers said yesterday it has spun off its last remaining private equity division, Close Growth Capital, under a management buyout by the arm’s bosses. The firm has already been rebranded as Growth Capital Partners, and is now controlled by managing partner Bill Crossan and partners Garrett Curran and James Blake. The spin [...]
Jobs saved as Dawson goes into administration August 3, 2009 DAWSON Holdings said yesterday that it has sold assets from Dawson News – its collapsed newspaper and magazine distribution business – to its rivals Smiths News and John Menzies, saving over 2,000 jobs. Dawson said the two subsidiaries which comprised Dawson News, Surridge Dawson and Solent SD, had been placed into administration. “Regrettably there is [...]
Celsis agrees to 55m deal August 3, 2009 CELSIS, the product testing company for the cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical industries, yesterday agreed to a £54.5m takeover bid from the activist investor Christopher Mills. Mills is bidding on behalf of a newly-created investment fund Nastor Investments. Nastor is controlled by funds managed by North Atlantic Value, which has total funds under management of about [...]
Hansteen opens UK industrial property fund August 3, 2009 PROPERTY investment firm Hansteen, which last month tapped investors for £200m, has launched a new £180m fund to invest in “unprecedented opportunities” in the UK industrial property market. After floating on the Aim market in 2005, Hansteen focused on continental European real estate, but joint chief executives Morgan Jones and Ian Watson believe the time [...]